How much historical information pertaining to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is contained in the Journal of Discourses? How and where can it be found amid the nearly ten thousand pages of printed matter, much of which is non-historical? How accurate is the historical information in the Journal of Discourses? These three questions pose the problem that this study is designed to handle.

The material in this study is a follow-up of a thesis done by Paul C. Richards entitled, "A Study of Evidences Related to LDS Church History as Reflected in Volumes I through XIII of the Journal of Discourse." That same basic format has been employed in treating the last thirteen volumes of the Discourses. The Discourses contains addresses delivered by General Authorities of the LDS Church and others from 1854 to 1886. Until Richards did his thesis, no one had compiled an index of those volumes that dealt exclusively with history related to the LDS Church. This study completes the historical index.From the historical index a study was made to discover the quantity and quality of historical information contained in the Discourses. The volumes were found to contain a great deal of valuable reminiscent and contemporary historical information. In general, the historical references were recognized to be accurate. The Discourses was found to offer significant insights into better understanding of the people and events in the history of the Church.